1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of producing polypeptides in enzyme-deficient Fusarium venenatum mutant strains, enzyme-deficient Fusarium venenatum mutant strains, and methods of obtaining the enzyme-deficient Fusarium venenatum mutant strains.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fusarium venenatum has been shown to be useful as a host cell for the recombinant production of polypeptides having biological activity (WO 96/00787, WO 97/26330). Fusarium venenatum hosts with the desirable traits of increased protein expression and secretion may not necessarily have the most desirable characteristics for successful fermentation. The fermentation may not be optimal because of the production of biological substances, e.g., enzymes, detrimental to the production, recovery, or application of a particular polypeptide of interest.
WO 99/60137 discloses trichothecene-deficient mutants of Fusarium venenatum. WO 00/42203 discloses cyclohexadepsipeptide-deficient mutants of Fusarium venenatum. 
The present invention relates to improved Fusarium venenatum hosts that combine the capacity for expression of commercial quantities of a polypeptide of interest while being deficient in the production of enzymes that can complicate recovery and downstream processing of the polypeptide.